Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Week Plan Wednesday

Wednesday- For the first time in my life, I just flat out gave up and said "Let's order Chinese." My kids are sick as dogs, so they won't eat anything anyway, and I probably should not discuss what I've actually done all day in the interests of not ruining your appetite.

For my dear friend who requested recipes: Homemade from scratch Chicken Noodle Soup!
Make maybe a roast chicken or a mess of drumsticks. Eat all the good meat and stick the leftover carcass in a pot big enough to hold it (a crock pot is awesome for this). Cover said carcass with water add salt, a splash of white vinegar, an onion, some carrots, maybe some celery, or whatever other veggies that aren't cruciferous. Thensimmer those chicken bones for-ev-er until everything (including the bones) is literally falling apart. Put a cloth napkin or not-terrycloth kitchen towel in a colander over a pot or bowl as big as the one you used for simmering. Pour the whole mess into the colander. If you used a whole carcass, you can let it sit until it's cool enough to handle then pick through the mush for any usable meat bits. If you used drumsticks, you probably won't have any useable bits, so you can skip that step.
If you have time, stick your stock in the fridge overnight to let the fat rise to the top where you can just skim it off. The stock should be like jello when it's cold. That's how you know it's full of awesome.
Put your stock back on the stove. Chop up some veggies. Whatever you used in the stock sounds great, or whatever else you've got on hand is fine too. Add everything to the pot based on how long it'll take to cook. So, onions and carrots first, fennel or corn later, noodles 10 minutes before dinner, spinach or peas right before you take it off the stove. Taste for salt and pepper. This stuff is also so good for you, unlike soup from a can or box. So nice work!